Wilfried Zaha's career stalling at Manchester United

The fact Wilfried Zaha couldn't even get off the bench for England U21s' Euro 2015 qualifier against San Marino on Thursday night said everything about how far the winger's stock has fallen in such a short space of time.

It looked certain that Zaha was going to make a big impact in his debut campaign at Old Trafford after impressing during pre-season.

The former Crystal Palace star, who United signed for £15m in January, was by far and away the Red Devils' most eye-catching performer on their tour of Australia and the Far East.

He then started the Community Shield against Wigan Athletic in August, but a disappointing performance at Wembley in front of a decent-sized crowd seemed to put David Moyes off the 20-year-old.

Since then - and remember, we're now a full two months down the line - Zaha has not played a single minute for Manchester United in any competition. Not in the Premier League, or the Champions League. Not even in the Capital One Cup.

Rumours - not those rumours - indicate that Moyes feels Zaha is not quite ready to play top-flight football for Manchester United. As well as being able to attack, Moyes also likes his wingers to defend and protect the full-back on their respective flank.

Perhaps Moyes saw enough to convince him that Zaha needs to learn some of the basics before getting his first taste of Premier League football.

Nevertheless, Zaha's career is suffering. When he was handed his senior England debut in November 2012 - at the time he was still playing in the Championship with Palace and had yet to sign for Manchester United - he was full of confidence and looked certain to play in the Premier League before all of his Palace teammates.

Curiously, the opposite has happened. All of his former teammates have played Premier League football before Zaha, who may well need to leave Old Trafford on loan for his own good in January.

The most important thing for a player of Zaha's age is to be playing regular first-team football - even if it means dropping down a level.

The winger said walking into Manchester United's training ground for the first time was a dream come true. But the dream is quickly turning into a nightmare.

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